Microsoft New England Picks: Not-To-Miss Events This May

| MSNE Staff

MSNE-May_Events

April showers bring May tech events… at least, that’s our motto here at Microsoft New England. With so much to do in Cambridge and Boston surrounding technology, policy, and education, there’s no resting this month. We’ve done our part to make sure you don’t miss a thing — here are our top picks for events you don’t want to miss this month:

May 4

Technovation Showcase

Technovation is an international program that teaches mobile app development, entrepreneurship, and community engagement.

High school and middle school female students work in teams of up to 5 to develop mobile apps to solve a problem in their local community.

Teams work with a classroom teacher or coach at their school and a female mentor/role model as project manager from the technology or related industry. Undergraduate female CS students may also be available to aid the teams by helping to answer coding questions. Specialist mentors of either gender may also contribute via presentations on their applicable expertise.

Each professional mentor works with a team of girls to guide them through each week of Technovation’s 12-week curriculum. Girls see their mentors as role models and look to them for guidance on how to overcome obstacles and solve problems thru the completion of their projects.

Regional winners compete at the World Pitch event in California where teams compete for funding to launch their company and take their app to market! The MassTLC Ed Foundation partners with CSTA Greater Boston and Microsoft New England to host a live regional pitch night in May as preparation for the World Pitch!

May 5

BUILD Sales Showcase

Attention shoppers! Come to our 9th graders’ first selling event! Support our students by listening to their pitches and buying their products. Please come support out students — you don’t want to miss it! Come at 3:20 and be an early bird shopper, or drop by as soon as you can — selling ends at 5:00.

May 17

Roxbury Innovation Center Cafe Night

The monthly Café Nights @ RIC are energetic and dynamic events where innovators and entrepreneurs can find one another and collaborate to bring their dreams to reality.

These regular gatherings provide a space for conversations and scheduled programs to inspire a wide range of attendees from different backgrounds and industries to connect, share ideas, and grow their ventures. The Café is open to all members of the innovation community—stop by to try it out.

May 18

MIT Media Lab Social Innovation Showcase

Join over 350 businesspeople, philanthropists, and community leaders to hear eight of greater Boston’s most innovative nonprofits pitch their solutions to our community’s toughest social issues. The Social Innovation Forum’s 13th annual Social Innovator Showcase, modeled after a venture capital forum, will highlight our eight 2016 Social Innovators for potential investors and spark conversations about the best approaches to develop and spread innovation.

May 19

MassChallenge Finalist Announcement

May 20-22
4th International Conference on Participatory Budgeting in North America

The conference is a space for participants and organizers of PB processes around the world to share and reflect on their experiences, alongside interested activists, practitioners, scholars, elected officials, technology innovators and civic designers through plenaries, panels, workshops, and other activities. Programming will be organized around tracks on Youth, Research, and PB in Practice and will lift up themes of inclusion, diversity, tools/best practices, and how PB can contribute to larger movements for social change.

This year’s program will include an opening kickoff celebration event taking place in conjunction with the City Of Boston’s Vote Fest, opportunities to observe the local PB vote, a range of talented and innovative speakers and exciting activities, and sessions at the Harvard Kennedy School as well as other sites around Boston.

May 25

The Refugee Road: An interactive event exploring the Syrian refugee crisis — Presented by Oxfam America, “The Refugee Road” will be a unique and interactive opportunity for participants to engage with the powerful themes of choice, loss, and uncertainty.

Most individuals in Syria face terrible choices about how to escape the unrelenting violence in their homeland. Yet few of these choices can ensure their safety. Syria’s war—described by the UN as “the worst humanitarian crisis of our time”—has forced more than 11.4 million people to flee their homes. Those who stay are often in danger. Many of those who leave must risk their lives to make dangerous journeys in pursuit of better lives for their families and themselves.

Humanitarian experts will be present to discuss the crisis, answer your questions, and tell you what you can do to assist the many Syrians trapped on The Refugee Road.

Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,